Video Learning and Second Language Acquisition

The use of video and sound material has played an integral part in second language teaching and language acquisition for quite a long time. There is extensive literature describing and documenting the effective practical use of video sources in the language classroom. In what can now already be called the “traditional” way, “video permits second language learners to witness the dynamics of interaction as they observe native speakers in authentic settings speaking and using different accents, registers, and paralinguistic cues (e.g. posture, gestures)” (Secules et al., p. 480). Videos are useful tools for listening comprehension exercises creating spaces of “multiliteracies and multimodality” (see Cope and Kalantzis in “e-learning Ecologies”) by combining different modes of communication: oral, sound, image and gestures.

Moreover, recent technological changes have opened up even more possibilities. Videos are now readily available online and can easily be integrated on online platforms. Students can now also easily produce their own videos, thereby changing their role from consumers to producers and thus becoming "co-creators of knowledge" (Cope and Kalantzis).

Example 1: Videotelling

The first example I would like to present is an archive of visual lesson plans for teachers by English teacher Jamie Keddie. His blog http://lessonstream.org/ and his recent publication Videotelling: YouTube Stories for the Classroom are a valuable source of creative lesson ideas using short video material. I believe they are especially interesting for younger language learners, “screenagers” as Keddie calls them at one point, at intermediate level. Keddie focuses on the narrative strength of videos, which can provide a great starting-point for lively discussions in class. For example, in one lesson, students at first only listen to the audio track of a youtube video without knowing anything about the video itself (“Blind luck” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8w-FzmQmY). In the following class discussion students will try to analyze the sounds, recreate the setting and speculate on the characters and their action. Only at the very end will students watch the full video and compare their own story to the story being told in the video. This is a very effective way of turning passive students into “engaged learners.” (see full lesson plan here: http://lessonstream.org/2012/09/07/blind-luck/)

Example 2: Cooking show

A second example is from my own classroom experience. I helped develop a hybrid course at advanced level for undergraduate students. We used a short cooking video (“Jamie Oliver’s principles for superb salads” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9p31reoSD8) as listening comprehension exercise on our online learning platform. Students were able to watch and re-watch the video at their own pace and then had to answer a set of listening comprehension questions. The video also allowed them to revise vocabulary and grammar points (particularly the imperative form). In a second step, students were asked to produce their own short cooking video preparing their favorite dish. We had excellent submissions and posted the best three videos on our course page. Students then voted for their favorite video and one of the students was awarded the title of top chef. Students were able to contribute to the online space and engage in what Cope and Kalantzis call “participatory learning.”

Bibliography:

Keddie, Jamie. Videotelling: YouTube Stories for the Classroom. Lessonstream Books, 2017.

Secules, Teresa, Herron, Carol and Tomasello, Michael. “The Effect of Video Context on Foreign Language Learning” in The Modern Language Journal, Vol 76, Issue 4, Winter 1992, pp 480-490.